


Heart Attack

by taesgurl



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/M, Mutual Pining, Pureblood Hermione Granger
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-09-18 02:49:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16986726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taesgurl/pseuds/taesgurl
Summary: Hermione deals with a traitorous heart, which causes her more trouble than she prepared for when long buried secrets come to light.Lately, her new favourite word is 'Fuck.'~on hiatus, real life is way too busy atm!





	1. Diagon Alley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is my first fan fiction in years. I've been itching to write again after absorbing every fan fic that caters to my tastes. Pureblood hermione is one of my favourite tropes, tbh! I actually wasn't a fan of it at all at first but now I'm hooked. I'm not a very good writer but I want to improve and the only way to do that is to write more.
> 
> Now this is gonna be kinda long, not 300k long (give me more 300k fics to read pls btw) but like probably 100k long? we'll see. updates may be inconsistent. lemme know what you think. this is unbeta'd btw so let me know any mistakes so i can edit them please :)

Hermione Granger was not your normal eleven year old.  
To others, she seemed older than her years, both her knowledge and her heart went deep. 

She was labelled a child genius. She absorbed knowledge like it kept her alive. The genius label was a bane to her however; it made people think she would be cold. It made people think that her preference for books, wit and debates would cause her to find people boring - that she would find a social life boring.

Oh how wrong those people were. For Hermione had a deep heart, she felt for people and issues passionately. She was one of the most caring and loving people you could meet. But no one cared to notice. People could never seem to get past the know-it-all persona that stuck to her like glue.

Well, two people did seem to get past it.

Hermione’s parents, Helen and Richard Granger were Hermione’s lifeline. On days where Hermione’s teasing was worse than usual, Richard Granger would be there to make her hot chocolate, with a ridiculous amount of cream on top, and to rewatch one of her favourite movies.

On other days where Hermione was completely ignored by her peers and even on occasion her teachers, Helen Granger was there to play and teach Hermione new songs on piano, where they would end the nights in laughter.

So when the day came that Hermione found out that she was more abnormal than originally thought, her parents were there.  
They were there to console her and cheer her up when she cried that she really was a freak, that she really did cause those accidents and that all the hate was deserved.  
They were there to listen to her excitement about finally finding a place she would fit in, that maybe she _‘would be able to make friends’_ and _‘how many new subjects to learn about!’_

Hermione Granger was not your normal eleven year old, but two people made her believe that was okay.

~

When it was finally the day the Grangers would depart for Diagon Alley - Hermione was all excitement, the previous negative emotions of last week were long gone.

Her parents were woken up by her excited squeals as she brought them breakfast in bed, telling them, “No complaining! I made your favourites. Now hurry up!”  
Helen just smiled fondly at Hermione and then at Richard as he chuckled at their daughter.

Richard shared a grin with Hermione and said, “I suppose we must do as our Princess commands.” he turned to Helen, “Eat up, buttercup.”

Hermione giggled as she lay at the foot of their bed, “I’ve already got all my things ready. I’m going to bring my little address book in case I meet anyone new, Professor McGonagall said they correspond via Owl, so I suppose I won’t need any telephone numbers… Why wouldn’t they just use telephones? I wonder how Owl correspondence works, we definitely need to go to the Owl emporium and find out! That is where McGonagall said we can buy an Owl.”  
Hermione turned on her side and watched her parents eat, “I think I want a cat for my pet though, what do you guys think?”

Her parents shared a small smile, clearly having talked about this earlier, her mum spoke, “I think we should get both, but we will keep the Owl so we can send you letters, darling. McGonagall said you can use the school Owls if you don’t get one didn’t she?”

Hermione, excitement renewed, jumped up with a massive grin. All but telling them to get ready soon, as she sprinted from the room.

~

Diagon alley was fantastic, people walked about in all sorts of dress, from bad Halloween costumes and Victorian nobles to just normal jeans and a t-shirt. People were using magic all around her and Hermione just couldn’t wait to learn how to do it all. Diagon Alley filled her heart with hope and wonder...

First off they visited Gringotts. Hermione’s mother looked a little put out by the Goblins while her father was intrigued, what other creatures or beings existed that Muggles knew nought? Changing currencies was fairly simple and fast, setting up an account with yearly and monthly payments however, was not.  
Hermione’s father, knowing the look in Helen’s eye, volunteered to stay behind to sort it out. His two girls agreed, leaving Gringotts almost skipping.

First thing on the list was her robes, they won’t be ready for some hours so it seemed logical to get those done first.  
When in Madam Malkin’s, she met a white haired girl who was a year younger than her.  
The girl had a faraway look about her when she spoke, “I think deep blue is a wonderful colour, don’t you?”

Hermione was surprised to be addressed by her, “Oh,” she swallowed her nerves, “Yes... Yes! Do you want to be in Ravenclaw then? I’m Hermione by the way, Hermione Granger.”

The girl smiled at Hermione, looking as if she just saw her for the first time, “That would be nice. My mother was in Ravenclaw. But yellow is nice too.” The girl looked faraway again, Hermione didn’t really know what to make of it.  
Just when Hermione was prepared to just forget her first embarrassing attempt at socialisation, the girl spoke, “I’m Luna Lovegood.” 

Hermione smiled,  _ what an odd surname.  _ Shrugging away the feeling of awkwardness she had let take over her, she began a barrage of questions. It turns out Luna was from a wizarding family, and that her father was the editor and publisher for a wizarding magazine called the Quibbler. Hermione made a mental note to look for it in the book shop later.

While Hermione was being fitted, Luna told her all about magical creatures called Nargles who had taken her new turnip bracelet when she was getting fitted for new yellow dress robes. Hermione felt for the girl but sadly she couldn’t stay and help her look for it, but she promised to look in other stores she went into. Luna gave her a dreamy smile and thanked her genuinely.  
Hermione wrote her address and name into her little book and left the shop feeling like she had made her first friend here. It was a pity she wouldn’t be going to Hogwarts for another year, but at least she had a new penpal!

 

Her next stop was to get trunk. When entering the shop, she overheard a regal woman talking to the proprietor about what enchantments to get on a trunk. Amazing! Even their luggage was magical!

Hermione followed the regal woman’s lead when it was her turn to make an order. She got multiple extension charms (while making a mental note to research such things asap), one for a library, a potions storage, a removable pet carrier and then after much debate with herself, she got a second library for fiction books.  
In addition to the extensions, she got a featherlight charm (which would need to be renewed every two years), a shrinking charm, and a privacy ward that was password protected. She thought about getting it wand keyed, but what if she needed a friend to get something from it?  
She instead decided on a privacy safebox that was wand keyed.

Luckily the charms would take a little while to be applied, as she had yet to get her wand. She bid goodbye to the proprietor and moved on to the Magical Menagerie.

-

Helen was quite excited to see what kind of cat Hermione would get before they left for the Owl emporium. She had quite a good laugh when upon entering the Menagerie, Hermione immediately picked an ugly, fat, ginger cat that looked a little more like a squashed lion than a cat. He had seemed to have been there for a while, just waiting for Hermione to come.

It did make Helen question how long these ‘familiars’ would live though and before she could ask, Hermione beat her to it.  
Hermione walked over to the supplies, while looking at the greying witch behind the counter. Feeling brave, her questions tumbled out, “Madam, how long do familiars live? - Oh! And! How old is this beautiful cat? You see - I’m muggleborn and -” The older witch cut her off.

“Familiars live a very long life as they bond with their witch or wizard, and thus they die with their witch or wizard. That fat cat there is already 8 years old, nobody has ever taken an interest in him until you, you know,” the older witch croaked.

Hermione soured a little as  _ Crookshanks -  _ his name - was  _ not _ fat, he was just strong and a little big boned! Still, Hermione had manners, so she smiled demurely, “Thank you, Madam.” She turned to Helen, having decided her conversation with the older woman was finished, “Mum what kind of bed should I get him?”

The older witch had a different idea and cut in before Helen could respond, “Oh right,  _ dearie. _ He is half Kneazle, which means he is a very intelligent magical creature. If you ask him to choose, he will understand you.”

Hermione ignored her slight displeasure and instead beamed at Crookshanks, deciding to try it right away. Crooks obliged.  
It turned out that he liked a medium-sized, plain-brown, fluffy bed and much to Hermione’s amusement, he also seemed very interested in all the treat types. 

Helen bought him the bed, a couple of small toys that were on sale and a big box of treats to last Hermione the year. A box which she quickly told Crooks he wasn’t allowed in, causing him to huff. Scratching him in apology, she decided that she couldn’t wait to see Richard’s face when he met the orange ball of fluff.

They quickly visited the Owl Emporium, Hermione opted to buy a tawny brown  _ Little Owl _ , scientific name  _ Athene noctua _ . She favoured the breed of small owls so it wouldn’t be obvious to the neighbours when it was off delivering post.  
Hermione chose to name her Tempest, liking the irony.  
Upon remembering she knew little about the actual mechanics of Owl post, a very kind wizard who worked there, explained it to her. Hermione thought it was a little slow compared to muggle modern communication but she did find the notion of letter writing an attractive prospect.

Hermione now felt that it was time to get her wand, but she wanted her father there for that, feeling like it was a significant family moment. Knowing what her daughter was thinking, Helen reluctantly decided that it was time they made their way back to Gringotts.  
Hermione, impatient for her father went on ahead with Helen staying outside _away from the goblins._ Lucky for Hermione, Richard was almost done, needing just twenty more minutes.

With nothing else left to do until they got Hermione’s trunk (Helen decided she  _ was not _ up for carrying a bloody cauldron without that featherlight charm). A stop to Sugarplum’s Magical Sweet Shop was made and Helen decided to treat both Hermione and Richard to some wizarding sweets. She kept a close eye, however, on how much Hermione was buying, goodness knows how much sugar was in this stuff…

Hermione instantly took a liking to sugar quills, and unknown to her mother, she also took the sweets shop Owl order details. What her parents don’t know, don’t hurt them after all.

When Richard finally joined them, he immediately took a liking to liquorice wands, making Hermione grimace.

After eating enough sweets to make Helen nag, they made their way to Ollivanders. Hermione passed Richard her feline friend to hold as she expected she would need her hands free.  
Richard, clearly not seeing Crookshanks before, was more than a little shocked. As he surveyed the beast, he let out a shocked but proud laugh, and then firmly told Crookshanks that he was to protect Hermione at Hogwarts. Crooks mewled loudly in response causing Richard to raise an eyebrow.

“Dad! He  _ can _ understand you, you know.” Richard immediately stopped surveying the cat and decided just to quietly hold him instead, causing Hermione to giggle.

-

Walking into Ollivanders had Hermione filled to the brim with sudden nerves, there was no one at the counter and there were so many boxes. Her parents were a little confused, so Hermione decided to be brave once again and call out for help, “Uh, He-Hello?” She cleared her throat, “Is anybody here?”

She heard a few tumbles that made her cringe, some rushed footsteps and in a moment, there was an old wizard in front of her, “Ah ah ah, who do we have here?” He looked at her closely while approaching, “A Nott?” Gesturing to lift her arms, he started to measure, “Which one is your wand arm?” Hermione nodded to her right.

Not one to miss a detail, Hermione tilted her head, confused, “A knot? What is that for, sir?” He continued to measure different parts of her in deep concentration causing Hermione to furrow her brows. He then straightened with a flourish and walked behind the counter murmuring to himself.  
He looked between the shelves and her a few times and then the old wizard finally seemed to notice her parents behind her, “Ah nothing, child. Now what is your name? I am Mr Ollivander.”

“I’m Hermione Granger, sir, pleased to make your acquaintance,” she was never one to forget her manners.

“Ah… Any relation to the Dagworth-Grangers? Although I thought they retired to the Americas,” he mused.

Hermione considered it for a moment, looking at her parents for any recognition, she found none, “I don’t think so, sir. I’m muggleborn.”

“Ah well, whoever knows, with squibs and such, yes? Now on to your wand,” he brought out 4 boxes that he had been gathering during their conversation, “Try this one first. Nine and a half inches, Holly, Dragon Heartstring.”

Hermione, a little frustrated he gave her no time at all to question him on whatever a ‘Squib’ was, gripped the wand a little too tightly. This caused all the papers on and behind the counter to fly around harshly, hitting Mr Ollivander in the face. Crookshanks hissed at the commotion, making Hermione drop the wand in shock.

“No, no, no! Not at all, I say,” he dug another box out from under the disarray of papers, “Try this one! 11 inches, Beech, Phoenix feather.”

As soon as Hermione had a firm hold on it, her hair became about ten times frizzier, standing up on end. Hermione frowned and put the wand down.

But it didn’t stop there, the more wands she tried, the more her worry grew. Six wands so far! Six! And absolutely none had fit her. Her eyes started to sting, was this all a mistake?

Just as she nearly gave in to the tears, Ollivander pulled out the last wand in his pile and gently handed it to her, his voice softening, “10 and 3 quarter inches, Vine wood, Dragon heartstring.”

She decided this was it. If this wand didn’t fit it must have all been some terrible mistake. Another cruel prank.  
She picked up the wand quickly, ready to get this over and done with. But when she held it, everything fell into place. It felt right. She felt a gust of power surge through and around her,. When it reached a foot above the little witch, it the power fizzled and dissipated into sparks.

A stray tear fell. Oh how good that felt, this was her wand!

“How very curious. Well, I have to say that suits you perfectly. The wand chooses the witch you know!”

Hermione beamed, so very happy that she really was a witch. She took his hand and shook it heartily, “Thank you so much, Mr Ollivander!”

“Not at all, not at all. I am glad you are pleased! The wand will be 7 Galleons. Would you like to see a range of wand holsters too?”

Hermione left Ollivanders with a genuine smile on her face, she felt along her forearm for  _ her  _ wand in her new wand holster, feeling more comfortable with it already.

She smiled up at her parents and in an excited rush of breath she said, “Lets go get my trunk now! Oh gosh I can’t wait to wand key my safebox!”

Helen stopped her daughter and pulled her for a hug, whispering softly into her ear, “You will be a wonderful witch, Hermione. Don’t let anything or anyone ever make you doubt that you  _ are _ a witch. We all just saw the proof.”

Hermione felt the sting in her eyes again, but this time it was because she was so very thankful she had someone who understood her so well. She squeezed her mum tightly, letting a small ‘thank you’ grace her lips before she sprung up, ready to put her upsetting emotions behind her.

To do this, she told her dad all about her new trunk that they were going to pick up. Understanding what his daughter needed, Richard played along and questioned this ‘featherlight charm’. Thinking that it actually sounded like something extremely helpful, he tried to bribe Hermione to do it for him on things once she learned how to.  
Hermione giggled at the offer of a bribe, and accepted an advance payment of 20 galleons which she planned to spend on quite a few books outside of her reading list.

-

Hermione walked up to Flourish and Blotts, shrunken trunk in hand for which the password was now  _ ‘Pemberley.’ _ Her parents followed behind her, content on letting her experience this shop without their assistance.

Crookshanks was in her trunk now, happily snoozing away along with all of his supplies. She also had all of her other school supplies in there. The only things left to get were her textbooks.

She looked around Flourish and Blotts in amazement, there were so many sections filled with so many books… So much unknown knowledge lying in wait for her to discover. Books were flying between shelves, quills writing by themselves on parchment, shelves that restocked themselves and a large bronze telescope changing direction every few seconds.  
It would be so easy for Hermione to just get lost in here for a couple of hours, but first things first, she needed to get her school supplies.

She pulled out her list and wandered over to the textbook section, everything was relatively easy to find, each Hogwarts year having its own shelf. The only book she was missing was  _ Hogwarts, A History _ , which was added to her list by Professor McGonagall after she had gotten a taste of the little witch’s enthusiasm for learning.

After dropping off a relatively large pile of textbooks with her parents, she wandered off on her own to find  _ Hogwarts, A History _ . Getting a little side tracked along the way as she made a mental note of any book that caught her interest.  
Finally spying the elusive tome, she eagerly ran to it. Immediately, she saw a problem. There was absolutely  _ no way _ she would be be able to carry it all the way through the crowd gathered at the till... Knowing how to do one of those featherlight charms would be immensely useful right now.  
Still, not one to refuse a challenge, even if it seemed impossible, she tried lifting it as much as she was able… which really wasn’t much at all.

“You don’t have to carry it you know,” came a drawl from behind her, she turned around and her heart stilled.  
She came face to face with another white haired person, this time, a boy. She wondered for a fleeting second if he was related to Luna, but on closer inspection his features were different, as well as his manner.  
The boy had sharp features for a young teen, but it fit him - and where Luna looked like she was floating, this boy held himself like he was nobility. 

For a small moment, she felt inferior to him. He looked like he was a bloody Prince. But she quickly dismissed that notion, even if he  _ was _ a Prince, he was no different from her.

Feeling confident, Hermione lifted her head and looked him in the eye. And oh gods did she instantly regret it. He had the most beautiful grey - no,  _ silver _ eyes she had ever seen. They had specks of an ice-like blue and, Christ, they shone with utter confidence and pride. Pride for what? She didn’t know. But she wanted to.

She felt such a pull towards him. It was illogical, he had barely spoken a sentence to her! But it didn’t matter, she wanted him to like her.  
Calming herself down and trying to play it cool, she raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh? And do tell how else I will be able to lift and thus purchase it with my inability to do spells yet.”

He smirked, she felt a spark seeing it, “You’re a first year too” His eyes flashed at her nod, “Wicked! Anyway, just tell the boy working at the front what books you want. He’ll levitate them to you. Easy.”

Hermione felt a little stupid, they were wizards,  _ of course they can do that. _ But then her thoughts led her to elation at the consideration of all the books she wouldn’t have to lug around the shop, “Well then, I thank you for that information, Mr…”  
Right, they had yet to be introduced.

“Malfoy. I’m Draco Malfoy.” Draco. What a fitting name for him.

He spoke again, “Is it your first time going shopping?” Hermione’s eyes widened a fraction, why on earth would it be her first time shopping? “I  _ had _ heard that some families were extra cautious after the war and all. But that was a decade ago… Oh, where are my manners? As you know now, I’m Draco Malfoy, and you are?”

Deciding to ignore his ramble for now, Hermione found her voice, “Well - Thank you very much, for the help, Malfoy. I’m -”

“Draco darling, it’s time to leave. We have to meet Theodore and Miss Parkinson. Come along,” Hermione was interrupted by that regal women from the trunk shop. Looking at her now, she resembled Draco quite a bit, she surmised that it was his mother.  
Draco smirked and bowed his head slightly, Hermione did a mini curtsy and smiled at his now retreating form. Even if she didn’t get a full introduction, she felt good about him and thus wrote his name in her little book. 

-

By the time Hermione got home, she was utterly and completely exhausted. She couldn’t wait to start reading all of her books tomorrow. She was disappointed though that her parents only let her get twenty wizarding books, plus an extra five she bought with her own Galleons. They were going to let her buy ten new muggle fiction books to take away with her though, so she acquiesced... Afterall, there was going to be a library in Hogwarts filled with wizarding knowledge, but there wouldn’t be any of her Muggle fiction that she so adored except from what she brought with her.  
Plus she wasn’t really looking to get into wizarding fiction, not yet, at least.

Crooks made himself home on her bed instead of in his and she was fine with that, more than fine actually, as he kept her feet very warm.

As she snuggled into her pillow, hugging her stuffed Lion plushie that she had had since she was a baby, she reflected on her day.

There was so much that she seen and did but...

Her last thoughts before sleep took her were of a boy with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i forgot to mention mutual pining is like one of my top tropes in anything ever like god give me that angst u know?
> 
> also this fic will have other pairings but i wont be adding tags for them until later on when we're caught up to fourth year/fifth cuz thats when shit starts. i also havent decided one of the pairings fully yet so we shall see.
> 
> thanks for reading !
> 
> EDIT: this chapter is reuploaded and edited to fix all my missing italics and rewrite some parts that I feel like I didnt write correctly, or were too rushed. The next chapter should be up in a day or two!
> 
> I, of course, own nothing. Everything belongs to JK Rowling!


	2. Letter Writing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited chapter 1 a bunch btw! so rereading might be useful, not many details changed other than a snippet of hermione's conversation with draco. other than that, it was mostly just rewriting bits i wasnt happy with.
> 
> Anyway! Shorter chapter this time around, it was actually meant to be double this size and to include the hogwarts express, but i wanted to separate them instead!
> 
> Chapter 3 should be up within the week :)

Hermione awoke the morning after the trip to Diagon Alley well refreshed. Ready and eager to spend all day reading through her new library. Most of all, she really wanted to read Hogwarts, A History. But after some consideration, she decided against it.  
Studies first, everything else second.

Even breakfast. She was halfway through Chapter one of _‘The standard book of spells, Grade 1,’_ not paying any mind to Crookshanks stealing her bacon, when her mother sternly addressed her.

“Hermione dear, I know you’re very excited to delve into this new world of yours, but it’s _breakfast._ I have already told you numerous times, _no reading at the table!_ ”

Hermione looked up, a tinge of shame painting her cheeks. Helen softened a touch at this, “Look honey, all I ask is that you read _after_ you have eaten. I have a surprise for you but you eat.”

Hermione bit her lip, feeling torn between putting the book down (without having finished the chapter) and the prospect of a surprise. Her curiosity won out in the end, however, causing her to acquiesce to her mother.  

As she started to eat what was left of her breakfast, her mother spoke, “As this will be the last time we see you until Christmas. I booked us a surprise little vacation to the Peak district for the end of this week.”

Hermione’s eyes sparkled with delight and she let out an excited squeal. Crookshanks jumped off of her lap in protest but Hermione cared more about questioning her mum rather than her kitty’s annoyance, “Oh Mum! Does this mean we can visit Chatsworth House again? Are we going to Alton towers? Wait! What about work?”

“Your father and I took the next two weeks off starting yesterday. I think we both deserve a little break, don’t you?” Helen smiled.

“Oh mum! That’s wonderful! Dad how did you keep it a secret? You’re terrible at secrets!”

Richard huffed in mock offense, “It was simple, your mother didn’t tell me until this morning,” Helen gave him a smug look, making Hermione to burst into giggles. Giggles that she _unsuccessfully_ tried to hide by coughing.

She looked between her parents and in that moment, Hermione truly felt like she was the luckiest girl in the world.

Interrupting her thoughts, her mum spoke once again, “Oh! There is one more thing…”

-

It turns out that when Hermione’s head was lost in a cloud of the written word in Flourish and Blotts, her parents had been busy at the stationary section.  
After they had gotten all of Hermione’s regular parchment, ink and quills. Along with a small telescope and brass scales scales. Her parents endeavoured to find Hermione some separate stationary, specifically for letter writing.

Helen, always the most practical of the two, had gotten Hermione some fine quality parchment, an elegant set of quills and four pots of first-rate ink.   
On the other hand, Richard had gotten her a special type of parchment that animates anything you draw, a set of rainbow ink and a self-writing quill, which Helen thought was less sensible.  
Richard also wanted to get Hermione a personalised wax stamp but Helen, reaching her limit, quickly dismissed the notion. Her daughter did _not_ need to spend time _wax sealing_ her letters.

Hermione was incredibly pleased with the stationary gifts, _even_ the rainbow ink. Feeling very grateful for the gifts, she decided to make it her personal goal to write at least two letters a week.  
Excited to try out the feel of parchment and infinitely grateful she had learned calligraphy at school. Hermione rushed to her room to begin a correspondence with Luna, with Crookshanks at her heel.

 

~~_Dear Luna Lovegood,_ ~~

~~_Hello Luna!_ ~~

~~_Dear Miss Lovegood_ ~~

 

Drat. She wasn’t very good at writing socially. She felt so awkward! Plus what if there was some social nicety she was missing when it came to sending Owl post?! The wizard at the Emporium didn’t mention anything of the sort!

Steeling herself, Hermione talked herself out her mini panic, _“Oh, stop being silly! Even if you missed a nicety, Luna will understand. She doesn’t seem the type to hold a grudge…”_

Nodding to herself, she decided to start over:

 

_Dear Luna,_

_How have you been?_

_I wanted to write to you as soon as I returned home, but I was too tired from such an exhaustive day, that I fell into a deep sleep very quickly.  
_ _I must ask, did you find your bracelet? I searched for it in every shop in which I ventured, but I didn’t see such a thing. I even asked my new pet familiar Crookshanks (who is half-kneazle!) to have a look but he couldn’t sniff any turnips._

 _Speaking of my new pet, I think you would like him. He is quite large for a cat (all the muscle, I’m sure) and he looks very much like a lion, but! He is very cheeky! He’s quite funny too, in his own way.  
_ _Now he’s looking at me as if he knows I’m writing about him right now, it is all good things, Crooks!_

 _I also looked for some books on Nargles in Flourish and Blotts but couldn’t find anything. But! I did find the Quibbler and I’m now signed up to a monthly subscription for that, as well as the daily prophet! Although... the daily prophet had a rather ghastly article speculating on a boy named Harry Potter._  
_This Harry Potter… He is the same age as I am, just a year older than you, I think. There was a chapter dedicated to him and the fall of ‘The Dark Lord’ in a book I purchased on recent events in modern history of the wizarding world, (which I skimmed while in the store).  
_It’s rather disgraceful, really.

_In other news, my parents have surprised me with a mini vacation to the peak district! I leave this Friday. Have you ever been? It’s really a lovely part of the country._

_I hope you liked your new dress robes!  
_ _Please write to me soon._

_Best Regards,_

_Your new friend, Hermione Jean Granger._

 

Hermione triple checked her letter - trying to delay the sending of it.

Crooks mewled at her, as if to say ‘ _Just send it already’_ and so she did.

“Mum! Dad! I have a letter to send, where is Tempest?” She yelled while walking downstairs.

When she got to the bottom, she heard her father answer, “She’s with me reading the newspaper in the living room, Hermione.”

Following his voice, Hermione walked into a scene she wished she had her camera for. Little Tempest was sitting on her father's shoulder, staring at the newspaper in his hands, softly hooting whenever he turned a page.

Hermione let out a soft giggle at the sight, gaining the attention of the two occupants in the room, she used the attention and held out her arm, “My little Tempest, how do you feel about taking a letter to my new friend, Luna?”

Tempest flew over to her hand and hooted in what Hermione would describe as excitement. Hermione gave her a little pet and held out an Owl treat, which Tempest nibbled gratefully. Once she was done, Hermione held out the letter.

Tempest took it and flew over to living room window, waiting patiently for it to be opened. This amused Hermione, “Come little Tempest, you must use the kitchen window. This window is too noticeable to neighbours.

Tempest obeyed and quickly departed from the room. On Hermione’s way to the kitchen, she heard her mum saying hello to Tempest and the crack of a window opening.

“I see you’ve let Tempest go without even a goodbye, mum.”

Helen smiled at her daughter, “She seemed like she was in a hurry. Important Owl business to do, no doubt.”

Hermione smiled back in agreement.


	3. A lost toad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meet Neville!  
> Super short chapter, I'm so sorry! I got crazy busy this week with a bunch of unexpected stuff. The rest of the train sequence is written but I'm not fully satisfied with it, so here is a short snippet to hold you off! Thanks for reading!

The remaining month flew by very quickly. In no time at all, Hermione and her parents were arriving at platform Nine and Three Quarters.

Hermione scanned the crowd, trying to take in as many details as possible and _ perhaps _ looking for a certain blond head.

Closest to her was a short, expressionless girl with a cutting dark bob, listening to a lecture from her mother. A few feet away, a nervous boy walked towards the train, every so often glancing back at an older woman with a sour disposition. Next to the train, there was more than a handful of older students, who got very loud upon being joined by a pair of tall twins with bright ginger hair.  
Hermione looked on behind them and noticed a thin, confused boy with a mess of ink-black hair gripping his trolley tightly. Her heart stung at the sight of him, he looked so frail…  
Forcing herself to turn her gaze, she noticed a large family, all ginger, coming through the wall entrance. A short stout women, who seemed to be the gaggle’s mother, shouted over to the twins from earlier. She gave them a tight hug and Hermione’s eyes moved on.

She sweeped the platform once more before she sighed and accepted it. No Draco.

Hermione turned towards her parents, dismissing her disappointment so she could focus on saying goodbye.    
With knowing looks on their faces, Richard and Helen both claimed her in a tight hug, careful however, not to crush the feline she was holding. When they pulled away, Hermione was sniffling and Helen had broken into muffled sobs. 

Richard didn’t want to let his little girl go, but he always knew this is something he would have to do. He left Hermione with strong words on being the brave and brilliant witch he knew she was.

Heeding her father’s words, she turned and headed for the train with a fierce determination in her eyes.

Richard wiped away a stray tear as she boarded the train.

 

-

 

Upon boarding the train, all of the excitement that Hermione had been trying to temper was released. The small brunette couldn’t help but release a squeal at the first sign of magic. 

When walking through the corridor, hoping to find a compartment to let Crooks loose in, she found the nervous boy from earlier who was now quietly crying in a compartment by himself. Remembering her father’s words, Hermione opened the door. She was determined to make friends this train ride, and this boy was going to be her first.

“Hello, are you okay?” Hermione said softly.

The boy appeared shocked and then seemed to get a hold of himself, proceeding to wipe his eyes and nose on a fabric handkerchief. He cleared his throat and gave her a small smile, “Thank you. I-I’m fine,” his voice cracked, causing his pudgy cheeks to redden. His next words were quiet, “Are you a first year too?”

“Yes! What house do you want to be in? Oh! My name is Hermione Granger by the way!”

Some steel entered his voice when he said, “Gryffindor. I want to be in Gryffindor,” he gave her a sheepish smile, cheeks reddening again, “I’m Neville Longbottom, it’s nice to meet you, Hermione.”

“It’s nice to meet you too Neville. I wish I knew what house I wanted,” she pouted and he inquired as to why she didn’t know, “I honestly can’t decide what house I want, Ravenclaw seems the most suited to me at first glance… But as much as I care about intellect and knowledge, that isn’t the most important thing to me. Maybe Gryffindor would suit me as Crookshanks is definitely one!”  
The both laughed, looking at her squashed lion who was pretending not to hear them. When suddenly, Neville’s eyes started to water again.

“Neville? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, my gran isn’t going to let me stay at Hogwarts....”

_ How horrible! _ “Why is that Neville? You’re a wizard! You need to learn to control your magic!”

Neville’s small tears became fat and he really started to cry, “I’ve lost my toad, Trevor. Gran is going to find out and - and I’m not going to be allowed to attend Hogwarts!”

Hermione wouldn’t let her new friend be taken away, “I’ll help you find him, come on!”

Neville looked up at her, tears swimming in his eyes, but a small bit of hope shone through, “R-really, Hermione?” he hiccuped.

She nodded in affirmative, and let her feline friend down, “You stay here Crooks, let us know if Trevor comes back!

Hermione pulled Neville out of his compartment and shut the door, already formulating a plan inside her head, “I’ll take the north part of the train Neville, you take the south! If you don’t find him, wait in the compartment for me to come back. If you do find him, go back to the compartment and tell Crooks to come get me! Okay?”

Neville tightened his fists, nodded and set off south.

Hermione watched him go with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also have a Merry Christmas!


	4. Late

Theo was late.

An unusual occurrence. He was never late, and he was especially not late for important things. Yet today, on perhaps the most important day of this year, he was late.

Draco muttered a series of curses under his breath, dreading his father’s opinion on the matter. Lucius wasn’t going to be happy.

His mother who was across the room, lowered her book and spoke, “My Dragon, you better not let your father hear those vile words…”

Draco scowled at the floor. In the back of his mind, he knew she was right. But he was sick of holding himself back, showing little emotion. It didn't feel right, to always be pushing, pushing, _pushing,_ his feelings aside. His temper flared, rage was welling up inside of him and he felt his last grasp on his control slip.  
He had a bloody good reason to use those words. Is he not allowed to be angry? His magic liked the power of his rage, it sparked around him, aching for release. It was always _‘Emotions mean weakness, son. Restrain yourself.’_ Or if he was lucky, ‘ _You’re a Malfoy, that means perfection.’’_ The ache grew, along with his anger. What if he didn’t _want_ to be fucking perfect? No…

What if he could never _be_ perfect?

The realisation of his insecurity caused his magic to roar forward. Draco doubled over from the release. His magic was ferocious, it wanted something to break. It found it's target, bashing into a grand mirror, on the west side of the room, with so much fury there had to have been at least a thousand cracks in it.

It wasn’t until his mother spoke, however, that he processed what had happened.

“Draco…”

He looked between the mirror and his mother, nausea pricked the back of his throat. For a second he was drunk on power and now he would pay for his mistake. Word vomit spewed forth from his mouth in a ramble of apologies and pleas for her to fix his mess. He was panicking, he couldn’t breathe right and he was quite sure he was going to faint and truly vomit at once.

Narcissa however, primly nodded at him and stood. She quietly cast the necessary charms to fix the mirror.

Draco focused on calming down. He couldn’t let his father see him like this, thank Merlin he had yet to finish business in his office.

Taking pity on her son, Narcissa silently cast a refreshing charm on him. Draco looked onto his mother in appreciation before quickly using the repaired mirror to fix his hair.  
Satisfied, he took a deep breath. Slipping into his mind, he looked to calm himself with some rudimentary occlumency.

Once he had his control back, he raised his head and met his mothers eyes, “I apologise.”

Narcissa’s look softened, “Of course, Darling. But Draco, you remember-”

She was interrupted by a roar of emerald flames, delivering Theo - just as the telltale noises of Lucius’ walking stick echoed from the hallway.

Draco instantly lost his previous calm and control, tensing from the noise of his father. Defensive, his sharp gaze landed upon his friend. In a harsh whisper he quickly spoke, “Just _where_ have _you_ been?”

Theodore chose not to answer. He wouldn’t even look at Draco.

Draco sighed in exasperation, “Look, Theo-”  
But he cut himself off, noticing his mother’s saddened expression, a lump formed in his throat as he realised why his friend was late. Merlin, why was he so bloody selfish?

“She should have been here today, Draco.”

Draco walked over and lay a hand upon his friends arm. He swallowed, in attempt to relieve his now dry throat, “I’m sorry, Theo.”

A quiet moment passed, interrupted by a deep voice filling the room, “Well, boys. I believe it’s advisable that we depart.”

Draco let Theo go, giving his arm a squeeze as a small attempt at comfort before walking over to stand beside his father.

“Narcissa will apparate you, Theodore.”

Theo nodded, “Thank you Mr and Mrs Malfoy, for escorting me today.”

His mother turned towards Theodore and started to speak. Before he could hear their conversation however, Draco felt his father grip his shoulder tightly and in an instant, he was upon Platform Nine and Three Quarters. He grimaced, holding back the familiar feeling of queasiness from apparition.

Lucius turned Draco around to face him. Silently reprimanding himself, Draco quickly cleared his face for any sign of discomfort - reminding himself, he shouldn’t be showing weakness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I know I said I'd have the rest of the train & arrival at Hogwarts up soon, but I got swamped with stuff for Uni and quite a few birthdays (as well as my own!). I wasn't satisfied with what I wrote so I decided to write this chapter, hoping it will help me rewrite the train ride.
> 
> Let me know what you think! (Its really strange to write Draco tbh, I never like what I write for him)
> 
> also if by chance any of the people reading this live in korea/have a korean number, vote for wumuti on under19!


	5. Knot, not and Nott

So far, they were an hour into their journey and Draco was feeling rather claustrophobic. Too many of his ‘friends’ were vying for his attention, invading his personal space, wanting to secure their friendship with the illustrious Malfoy heir. It seems he was crowned the Prince of Slytherin before he was even sorted. Fantastic.

He had had enough, “Theo. Crabbe. Goyle. Let’s go.”

Crabbe and Goyle immediately stood to attention. Draco stopped himself from rolling his eyes. This was all bollocks.

He felt a clap on his back, and knew it was Theo. Draco turned to face his admirers, trying not to sound too eager while bidding them goodbye.

In a practiced pose, he looked none of them in the eye, choosing instead to examine his fingernails, “I’ll see you all at the Slytherin table.”

The room erupted in agreement and he swore he heard Pansy and Daphne squeal.

Theo bluntly shut the compartment door, muffling the noise. Draco sighed in contentment. He closed his eyes and enjoyed his few seconds of blissful respite before he would have to search and befriend the ‘great’ Harry Potter.

“I’m going to go find a silent compartment. Come find me when you’re done.”

Draco spared Theo a glance. He assessed his friend, trying to figure out if he needed his company. He had a dark, almost haunting, look in his eyes. Contrast to how the rest of him looked unperturbed. Draco knew he couldn’t help sooth that darkness in his friend, it was the kind of thing one dealt with alone.

They part ways with a simple nod and thus, Draco made a move to find the oh-so sacred boy-who-lived.

-

Finding a toad was harder than Hermione thought it would be. She’d been in twenty compartments so far and had zero luck. Scratch that - she had negative luck. Who knew the older students could be so mean? She was very aware of her mess of hair and rabbit teeth, why did it need pointing out? Add to it that she wasn’t very comfortable with the looks some of them gave to her muggle attire. She should change into her Hogwarts robes soon, perhaps that would satiate the blood-purists…

Ha! Bloody-purity. What a stupid notion. It was almost as if wizards never learned about basic biology and effects of inbreeding. She scrunched up her nose - _right_ , they _didn’t_ learn about that.

She knocked on the next compartment door and opened it, fairly used to the routine by now. This compartment wasn’t busy like the others however. Alone, sat a single boy.

He was reading a book, or at least it appeared that way. It was apparent to Hermione that he was lost in thought, just staring at the same spot on the same page. He didn’t even appear to have heard her come in.

She hated to interrupt him but she had a toad to find. So, she stepped further into the compartment and cleared her throat.

He didn’t look up.

She tried again.

Nothing. He was quite clearly ignoring her.

“Excuse me!”

The boys eyes widened in shock. He looked at her, forgetting about the book now laying face-down on the ground. Perhaps he wasn’t ignoring her after all.

As his shock wore away, a silence filled the compartment that Hermione was afraid to break. He scrunched his nose, assessing her.

She didn’t like feeling judged.

_Push through it, Hermione! Take a deep breath and go for it!_

“Hello! -” he raised a single eyebrow, “- I’m Hermione, I was just wondering if you had seen a toad around? A boy called Neville has lost his.”

She tried to act casual, carefree, but in reality she was watching his every reaction. She couldn’t put her finger on it but this boy intrigued her. She didn’t miss the way his eyes narrowed at her introduction, followed by a clenched fist.

“No. I’m sorry, _Hermione._ But I haven’t seen a toad.”

His eyes pierced into her, as if he wanted a staring contest. Gone was the peaceful boy, lost in thought. She didn’t like this... she felt anger coming from him - was it because of her outfit? Are wizards really that sensitive?

He sneered at her, his words dripping with disdain, “Well? Did you need something else?” How rude - but Hermione wasn’t one to back down.

“I see. Well thank you for your time…” She flashed him a sickly sweet grin, he held her gaze, “Don’t forget your book.”

He scoffed, pointedly ignoring both her and the book, choosing to look out the window instead.

She didn't want to stay any longer. She had won the makeshift staring contest and already said her gratitudes. Quickly she closed the compartment door, with a little more force than necessary.

Why did he make her feel so uneasy?

Further along the carriage, a yell could be heard, “An hour til Hogwarts!”

Crap! She disregarded the last few compartments, in favour of getting changed early enough to avoid the rush. She’ll come back to them later, she reasoned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this all and cut the dramione meet out for another chapter - I didn't feel like it fit with this. I'm never satisfied with my writing though so, here is to rewriting the next chapter a couple of more times before I feel sick of it enough to post it. Thank you for reading!
> 
> ps: vote for wumuti on undernineteen if you live in korea/have a korean phone number!


	6. A litany of mistakes

Draco had been searching for the boy-who-lived for a while. It had been almost half an hour since he left Theo. Luckily for him in the next compartment sat a boy matching the description of a young James Potter, alone, reading a chocolate frog card. Candy wrappers littered the seats. How uncouth.

Alas, duty is duty and Draco must make an effort.

“You two - go… get some chocolate frogs from the trolley.”

Crabbe smiled widely, almost giddy with excitement, “Good idea Drake!”  
Goyle just simply nodded.

Merlin, he hated that nickname.

Brushing it off, Draco confidently strided into the compartment, surprising the boy. He was surprised and unwelcoming, his eyes narrowed at Draco.

“Hello. Are you another first year?” Draco started the conversation casually, trying to relax the on-guard boy.

“Ah. Yes. Are you?” 

He couldn’t help but lift an unimpressed brow.  _ Quite obviously he was another bloody first year… _

“Of course you are. I’m Harry, what’s your name?”

“Draco Malfoy, a pleasure…” Strange, he didn’t react to the name. Regardless, he had to confirm this was Potter. He tried to act as natural as possible, like he _just_ thought of who the boy may be, “You wouldn’t happen to be _Harry_ _Potter,_ would you?”

Harry gave him a tight lipped smile.

“Ah sorry if I caused discomfort. I understand what it’s like to have your name known.”

“Oh.” His dark eyebrows furrowed, considering something, “Malfoys are known in the wizarding world, then?”

He hadn’t heard of the Malfoys? Is he a bloody hermit?

Oh right, his father did say something about rumours of him being raised by muggles but he didn’t think it was actually  _ true. _

“Ah. Yes. My family is one of the sacred twenty eight.”

A look of comprehension dawned on him, “I see. My friend Ron is also a part of that. He’s actually just went to see his brothers,” Harry smiled politely, clearly not very impressed with the mentioning of the sacred twenty-eight. Just what had this ‘Ron’ told him?

'Ron'? Brothers? Draco racked his brain for his lessons on the remaining pureblood families. The only thing that came close was… Ronald Weasley.

A _ Weasley. _

A dark sneer crossed Draco’s face, just as he heard the compartment door open behind him. 

“Hey, Harry! Fred and George just taught me a new spell we can practice! Wait -”

“Weasley. How…  _ well _ you look. How  _ is _ your father doing? Still studying  _ muggles?  _ Ah - what was it my father said? His latest project was ‘Hairdryers’? It honestly sounds quite self explanatory to me. Not to your father though, I presume? _ ” _

Weasley had being growing redder the more Draco spoke. He was about to retort but Draco decided to cut him off.

“Well, Potter. As you can see,  _ some _ wizarding families are better than others. You don’t want to go making friends with the  _ wrong _ sort… I can help you there.”

Harry narrowed his eyes and Draco realised he may have just made a massive misstep. 

“I think I can tell the wrong sort on my own, thanks.”

Draco heard a snicker from Weasley behind him.

“Very well, Potter. See you at Hogwarts.”

He shoved past Weasley and hastily closed the compartment door. His feet carried him towards the bathroom without thinking. He pushed past a mess of brown hair and rushed inside the only available room. Once he had the door locked he slumped against it, head in his hands.

He fucked up for the second time that day. All because he just keeps losing his control on his emotions. 

He groaned loudly, willing himself to keep back tears because he knows if he lets a single one go, more will keep coming because then he would be a failure in every respect. Why did he always feel like he was disappointing his father?

Salazar! He wasn’t looking forward to telling his father. At least now he wanted to panic rather than cry.

Damn it, why was he so weak? 

He willed himself to reach into his mind scape, shakily building a fence around the garden in his mind. He couldn’t get it as high as he would have liked, and it was shoddy at best but his breathing slowed.

He needs to talk to Theo, perhaps he has an idea of how to fix this mess. It is doubtful Potter will be in anything but Gryffindor, so it cannot be a natural fixing of close proximity… Blast it, he can’t figure it out.

He put it out of his mind and once again fixed his hair that had somehow gotten so disheveled that he might as well be a Weasley. He scoffed at his reflection. Potter himself had messy hair, maybe that was a requirement to be his friend.

As if he would ever sink that low.

 

-

 

Hermione was mildly annoyed. No. She was extremely annoyed. 

Three times she had been pushed past on her way to the bathroom. Three times she was not even spared a glance! It was not even  _ nearly _ time for people to rush and change yet people were doing so!

She was even pretty sure the third person who pushed her was Draco! Draco Malfoy! He didn’t even say sorry! Now she felt like any thoughts of him she had previously were just a waste of brain power.

Although… Maybe he had something urgent to attend to. Her initial impression of the boy didn’t show him as rude. Over-Eager, perhaps, but certainly not rude.

Logic out-reasoned her initial offense, she decided to not make a judgement until she had more information.

Upon her conclusion, a bathroom was freed up. Finally!

Five minutes later, she looked herself over in the mirror. She didn’t look much different, or feel special. Honestly, she expected to feel more… magical. But it was simple a school uniform, similar to her old one. It just had better craftsmanship and an added cloak. Everything else was just like the one she wore in primary school.

A pity. It was logical, of course, that not everything in the magical world would be inherently magical… But she couldn’t help but hope.

This was her world. It was for people like her, somewhere that she could fit in… Yet, things didn’t seem much different. People still laughed at her, they still gave her strange looks, people even used the same bloody nicknames! 'Rabbit-teeth', 'Hair-ball'. Really, was nobody creative anymore?!

She couldn’t actually say her school subjects were the same, that was the furthest thing from the truth. Yes, potions seemed much like chemistry and arithmancy looked like maths - but they weren’t either of those things. They were magical.

And so, she still had hope. There  _ was _ wonder in this world and Hermione Granger was damn well going to experience it. 

 

-

 

Hermione chose to exit the bathroom at the same time a slightly taller blonde head of hair did. It was Draco! Should she say hi? Finish introducing herself? Or should she pretend not to see him, and hope that he calls on her?

Yet, before she could decide what to do, grey eyes met her own honey brown and she was hit with the realisation that she had been staring at him.

Timed stilled, as did her heart. His face was flushed and his eyes were slightly red. Yet other than that he looked pristine, not a hair out of place. She felt her own face start to warm, he was pretty, she noticed. 

Neither said a word, they just held each other's gaze until finally she blinked.

That seemed to snap him out of it and he immediately stood up straighter and plastered on a smile, “Ah, the girl from the bookshop. History of magic, was it?”

Even his accent was pretty. She wanted him to like her but she felt uneasy around him. He left her feeling a way she couldn’t yet identify. Words didn’t form on her tongue as easily as they did with Neville or Luna. She didn’t know why but she really didn’t want to say the wrong thing.

“Uh - Excuse me?”

Great. Instead of saying anything at all she zoned out like an idiot!

“Sorry! My mind was somewhere else,” a nervous laugh escaped her, but she was put slightly at ease when his features relaxed a little, “Yes, History of magic. Draco, right?”

“Yes, Draco Malfoy, a pleasure once again. I recall that I was interrupted from getting your name, however.”

Her cheeks still felt warm but she let out a small sigh of relief, this was going easier than she expected.

“My name is Hermione,” she didn’t miss the way his eyes widened a fraction, “Hermione Granger,” she also didn’t miss the way his eyes narrowed at her last name.

“...Granger? I see. Are you related to the Dagworth-Grangers?”

His casual smile was gone, replaced by the fake smile from before.

The hair at the nape of her neck prickled, she wasn’t sure if he would like her answer.

“No. I’m a muggleborn, actually,” a slight note of defiance bled into her voice, daring him to find something wrong with that.

Dare he did. An ugly sneer crossed his face, his eyes showed repulsion. The polite welcoming voice from before had turned hard, cold, “A  _ mudblood,  _ you mean?”

"I have  _ no idea _ what you just said but I am assuming its offensive considering your glare,” he laughed humorlessly,indicating it was so, “I see that this conversation is over. Good day, Draco Malfoy.”

She didn’t want to hear his reply, if there even was one. She was sure her ears were red, whether from embarrassment or anger she couldn’t quite tell. One thing she could tell, however, was that she was going to prove all of these snivelling blood-purists wrong.  
  


 

If she had waited, however, she would have been able to hear a quiet curse in reply, from a boy with ears as red as her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am finally semi satisfied, semi sick of this chapter and can finally move on to the illustrious golden trio's beginning of a rocky friendship and a very angry Theodore! Remember to let me know if you see any mistakes! I'm pretty terrible with grammar and spelling etc and welcome criticism.


	7. A whole lot of orange

The first thing Draco heard upon finding Theodore’s compartment was, “I am going to _kill_ Zabini.”

Draco was, understandably, confused, “Blaise? Why, what has he done?”

“He thinks that he can pull stupid fucking pranks and just because his arse is in Italy and we’ll forget about it by the time he’s back in Britain!” There was a slight pause in his speech as he ripped a chocolate frog out of the packaging, “This isn’t the kind of thing _friends_ prank each other about! Fuck!” And then proceeded to throw it at the window.

It was quite clear that whatever Zabini had done wasn’t a simple petty prank, this seemed grave indeed, Theo wasn’t one to waste chocolate, “Mate, what happened?”

“Hermione happened!”

“You - your sister, Hermione?” The last time Draco even heard him speak her name was six years ago, just _what_ had Blaise done…

“What other bloody Hermione is there?!” Draco didn’t want to mention the unfortunate case of the mudblood in their year.

“Okay. I get it. What has he done that involves your sister?”

“ _What has he done?_ Well he has bloody thought it funny to hire some shit impersonator to come in and ask me about a toad!”

“A toad?”

“A toad.”

“Why on bloody earth would he get her to ask you about a toad?”

“Hell if I know!”

Draco knew that Blaise was rather inconsiderate in his prank attempts, but he wasn’t sure this was the italian’s doing.

“Are you sure it was an impostor pretending to be your sister - orchestrated by Blaise?”

Theo gave him a look, questioning his intelligence, “What _else_ would it be?”

He _was_ going to have to mention the mudblood, great, “There is a… mudblood, in our year, with the name Hermione.”

Theodore didn’t look convinced, “A muggle with the name _Hermione?”_

“Trust me, I thought the same when she was introducing herself. But - I saw her in Diagon Alley. I don’t think she’s here just for a prank, mate.”

“Do you think-? No. No, she’s dead.”

Draco lacked the ability to offer comforting words, there was nothing that he could tell his friend that would make the situation better. Nor any action he could take that wouldn’t be an empty gesture of comfort. He could only stare at his friend who, with clumsy fists, rubbed at his eyes willing himself not to cry.

After a long moment passed, Theodore cleared his throat. His friend’s quiet, broken voice pierced Draco, “You know, I-I wasn’t even truly mad at Blaise if he did do it,” he took a ragged breath, “I _wish_ he had. The reality is worse.”

Draco understood what his friend meant, Theo was to be faced with the question of ‘what could have been?’ daily.

“You know, I truly thought it was her. It was only for a fleeting second, but that was enough. I… I’ve never felt more crushed. And then I was angry. I was _so_ furious at myself for hoping. I should know better.”

“I don’t think you could have helped hoping, Theo.”

“Yeah… well I feel fucking stupid,” he bitterly chuckled.

“Why’d you blame Blaise, by the way?”

“He was the one, other than you, who knew about her, and… Pranks aren’t your thing, mate.”

“Noted.”

 

-

 

Hermione shrugged off the unpleasant exchange with Draco. It would do no good to dwell on it, even if she was a little upset that she had been wrong about him.

She only had five more compartments to check before she would head back and meet with Neville. It was actually starting to worry her a little that she had yet to find Trevor, and evidently with the lack of Crooks coming to find her, neither had Neville.

His gran really wouldn’t _really_ take him out of Hogwarts, would she? It wouldn’t be right.

The next compartment she came across was littered with candy wrappers. In it, sat two boys. One with ginger hair very similar to the twins she noticed before - perhaps he was a part of the gaggle of gingers along with them.

The other was the same frail boy with messy hair. Her heart still stung looking at him, but now his face was full of delight instead of confusion. That look suited him much better.

She hated to interrupt, but… “Excuse me, have either of you seen a Toad? A boy named Neville has lost one.”

The ginger boy, who she now realised was holding his wand as if he was going to do a spell, gave her a rude look and told her firmly, “No.”

That didn’t deter Hermione, however, “Oh - are you doing magic? Let's see then!”

The boy lifted his head with pride as his friend gazed on excitedly. He cleared his throat and spoke clearly, “Sunshine, daisies, buttermellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow!”

It didn’t work. Unsurprisingly.

“Are you _sure_ that's a _real_ spell?” Hermione couldn’t help herself, “It’s not very good, is it?”

Each boy made a face and Hermione felt incredibly rude but she couldn’t stop her rambling, she felt the need to show off, “I’ve only tried a couple of simple ones, myself. But they’ve all worked for me. I-I'm a muggleborn, so of course it was a big surprise when I got my letter, but it made sense, you know? Hogwarts is the best wizarding school, I've heard, so I learned all my course materials by heart. I just hope it'll be enough. What about you guys?" 

They looked at her like she had two heads.

"I see. Well then, here! Let me show you a spell!”

She walked further into the compartment, eager to show one of her new favourites. She faced the black haired boy, and lifted her wand, " _O_ _culus Reparo_.”

The white tape that held the boy’s glasses together vanished, and his glasses were shining, good as new.

She did it! She now felt very smug as the two boys were wide-eyed with wonder, “That’s better, isn’t it?”

When the boy took off his glasses to inspect them, his hair parted slightly and Hermione saw the telltale lightning scar that sat on his forehead.

“You’re Harry Potter! I read all about you! Oh, where are my manners? I’m Hermione Granger.” She then remembered the other person in the room, “And… you are?”

The ginger boy kept chewing as he spoke, “Ron Weasley.”

_Eugh!_

“Pleasure.”

Harry was about to ask her something when an orange ball of fluff jumped on Ron. It was Crooks!

“Crookshanks! Down boy!” He was going for Ron’s rat!

She quickly ran and picked him up, understanding that Neville must have found Trevor. Thank god!

“Damn, Crooks. You can’t just go eating other peoples rats!”

Ron looked mad! She better head out quick.

“Sorry!” She gave Ron a sheepish smile, “You two better change into your robes, I expect we will be arriving soon. Nice meeting you both!”

She scrambled away from their compartment as fast as she could.

“Crooks! I could have made two new friends, why did you have to go for that rat!” Her fat feline, however, showed no remorse. Instead, he held his nose in the air like she was the one who offended him.

Bloody cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter to finish the train off!  
> As you can see, I'm not exactly very subtle with the secrets I should be keeping. I wanted to explore Theo's character a bit more so I just thought it would be best to introduce this early, but it won't get resolved for a long while yet!
> 
> (I changed the dialogue for Hermione meeting R&H for the first time to fit a little more with my Hermione - hope it is okay :) )
> 
> Finally we can begin first year!  
> Thanks for reading! x


	8. A talking hat

The view of Hogwarts from the lake was perhaps the most beautiful thing Hermione had ever seen. The castle stood tall, upon a massive mound of rock. The black night was draped over it, with the twinkling stars and full moon lighting up the far reaching towers. It seemed as if every window shimmered with an orange glow from within.

She let out an involuntary squeal and turned to her companions, “Oh gosh, it’s amazing isn’t it?”

The three boys who shared her boat were awed by the sight and each slowly nodded. She was lucky that Neville and her were boating with Harry and Ron - she wouldn’t dare think of who else she could be with.

“Harry! Ron! I never got to ask you earlier, it  _ completely _ slipped my mind. What houses are you wanting to be in?”

Awe left Ron’s face quickly, replaced by a furrowed brow and a sudden gloom. He didn’t speak, however.

Harry looked worriedly at his friend, but still answered Hermione, “Gryffindor, for both of us I think.”

Hermione took the hint and just nodded, a small smile accompanying her discomfort. It seemed making friends with these two would be hard work.

Not so soon after the group fell silent, the boat steered towards a little dock. 

A colossus of a man, who Harry told her was named Hagrid, led the first years out of the boats and towards a passageway within the rock that led up towards the castle. 

The whole group of first years were rather hushed until they reached the stone steps that led to a massive Oak door. Excited murmurs passed through the crowd as Hagrid raised a gigantic fist, proceeding to knock on the door three times.

Immediately, the door swung open, revealing a single witch. She stood there, stern face and all, cloaked in long emerald robes. It was Professor McGonagall! She looked much different standing there.    
Hermione was so very excited to have her as a Professor. If she remembered, correctly, she was head of Gryffindor house and taught Transfiguration.

Hagrid handed the crowd off to the Professor. After she made her introduction, she spoke and told them of what was to come, while they followed her to a small chamber, just off the side of the hall.

“Welcome to Hogwarts, first-years,” She said, in her unique scottish brogue, “The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.”

This all sounded perfectly excellent to Hermione’s ears. A sure easy way to make friends!

The Professor continued, “The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards.”

Hermione listened to the next section of the Professor’s speech with a ferocity, “While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.”

Does this mean she could get awarded points for doing well in class? Oh - how exciting! The library will become her favourite place if that’s the case… She absolutely  _ must _ visit it first thing tomorrow.

“The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I will return when we are ready for you.” With that, the Professor was gone.

Eager murmurs broke out among the crowd, whether from nerves or excitement, Hermione couldn’t tell. 

Heeding the Professor’s words, she straightened her own skirt and tie. Content with how she looked, her eyes started to wander.  
She noticed Harry battling with his hair, trying to flatten it. A battle he was losing, unfortunately. Her eyes then flicked to Neville who was trying to properly straighten his cloak, red faced. In contrast to Neville, there was Ron who looked relaxed, not making an effort to primp himself.

Harry, who had given up with his hair, asked Ron, “How exactly do they sort us?”

She was all ears to hear his answer, she wondered it herself. After all, it wasn’t mentioned anywhere in  _ Hogwarts, A History _ .

“Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking.”

Neville went white with the news. Harry, on the other hand, tensed. His mind seemed to be going a thousand miles per minute.

For good measure, Hermione started to recite all the spells she had learned. Crap - She wasn’t told there would be a test!

 

-

 

The Sorting turned out to be wearing a talking hat, who read your mind and told you your house. 

She heard Ron whisper beside her, “I’m going to kill Fred! He was going on about wrestling a troll.”

Hermione stifled a laugh, before being brought to attention by Professor McGonagall.

“When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,” she said, “Abbott, Hannah!”

Oh gosh! Hermione’s name was quite soon if it was alphabetical order! She stood as still as could be, unable to focus on the others being called, just waiting for her own name.

A few minutes passed and Hermione didn’t move a muscle, until her name was called, that is.

“Granger, Hermione!”

She almost ran up the steps to the stool, a bundle of nerves and excitement. However, when the hat sat upon her heard, she felt a calm wash over her.

_ ‘Interesting, how very interesting. You have a sharp wit and bundles of intelligence - yet your heart beats with a fire of courage… A caring heart, however, immense in its ability to love… However I see a hidden thirst in you… a thirst for success, your ambition is vast indeed. I can also see a cunning side to you, a side you will show only to your enemies… How very interesting… May I ask your opinion on the matter, dear? What house would you like to be in?’ _

The first thing to come to Hermione’s mind were her father's words, from earlier that day. She was to be the brave and brilliant witch that her father knew she could be.

_ ‘I see, child. Bravery and Brilliance? Then it shall have to be…’ _

_ “GRYFFINDOR!” _ The hat bellowed.

The table of red cheered loudly, all for her. Gryffindor… How great! She left the stool quickly, and went over to  _ her _ table. She sat beside the boy who had been called up just moments before her, Seamus Finnegan. 

Across from her, sat the twins from earlier. They were rather good looking up close. After the thought left her mind, they winked at her, simultaneously, causing her to blush furiously. Did she say that out loud? No - she couldn’t have! She looked away from them, quickly, and chose to watch the rest of the sorting instead.

Her eyes passed over Draco, looking the picture of calm.

 

-

 

Draco, however, was anything but calm. He was lost within his own mind, replaying scenario after scenario of how this one moment could go horribly wrong.

He kept imagining the sorting hat calling out  _ “HUFFLEPUFF” or _ even worse “ _ GRYFFINDOR!”  _ The horror! Merlin, his father would disown him!

What if  _ Theo  _ ends up in Hufflepuff? Then he would have to suffer his adoring fans all by himself…

What if he puts the hat on and it turns out he is a squib and this is all just one big mistake and everyone including him gets their memory wiped because ‘ _ The Malfoys have never birthed a squib, you know.’ _

“Malfoy, Draco!”

Shit.

_ Merlin, Morgana and Mother Magic herself, please don’t put me in Hufflepuff. _

Contrast to his inner turmoil, Draco confidently walked up to the stool. He easily kept his facade in check. He sat and without even a second of the hat being on his head, it shouted, “SLYTHERIN!”

Pride filled him, he was perhaps the fastest sorting out of the lot. The Slytherin table greeted as if they were the mannerless Gryffindor, roaring in excitement. The Prince of Slytherin has at last, arrived.

Thankfully, Theo followed his footsteps. They shared a private smile (or in Draco’s case, a smirk) knowing that they had happy news to relay to their fathers. 

Pansy was on his heels and she bounced with every step. She flashed a smile at Draco, one he happily returned.    
She was okay - Pansy. Among others, she would join the Greengrass sisters. Giggling at everything he said while in his company and in return, tittering behind her hand, to the eldest Greengrass, when she was not. However, when alone with just him or Theodore, ‘Parkinson’ shed her mask and became Pansy.

She had no desire to lock him into an early betrothal, nor did she simply have frivolities on her mind. Pansy was an avid Quidditch fan and player, her favourite subject was ancient runes and she had a wondrous knack for herbology. It was a shame that -

“Potter, Harry!”

The great hall became an ocean of whispers all at once. However, once the boy sat upon the stool and the hat rested upon his head, a hush fell over the room.

Seconds ticked by and everyone watched with bated breath. It seems the boy was a hat stall. It was probably between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff,  _ ‘which one suited the frail little thing better?’  _ Draco mused.

The hat straightened and exclaimed, “GRYFFINDOR!”

The cheers from the Gryffindor table were unlike anything Draco had seen so far. They were thunderous, almost deafening. His eyes roamed over the table, noticing the mudblood from earlier was excitedly clapping her hands. She had a bright smile on her face, congratulating the Potter boy with a fierce sincerity. 

Draco scoffed and looked away, sick at the sight.

“Disgusting, right?” Theo spoke.

Draco lazily met his gaze, “Hmm?”

“Granger. And the Potter boy, of course.”

Draco frowned, unaware he had been caught staring. His trademark smirk quickly took its place however, once he realised his dunderhead duo were watching.

“Absolutely vile. Add in the Weasleys and you have every reason to go blind.”

His surrounding peers were full of giggles at his statement. Personally though, he didn’t find it very funny. Bloody sycophants. 

He chanced another look at the Gryffindor table, once attention on him died down, and instantly he regretted it.

His grey met her brown and he tensed, his heart skipping a beat. He told himself to look away but it was impossible. She had him captured in her glare. Her eyes narrowed at him, accusing him of something he knew not. He was uncomfortable with her accusation. He hid it, however, smirking in response. She turned away. 

He suddenly felt very alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was considering holding this off until I finished the next couple of chapters, but I'm quite impatient about posting. It gives me a strange sense of anxiety to not post something I've completed. (This unfortunately means if I get busy or have writers block, I won't be posting anything as I don't like to hold things back D: )
> 
> I've been pretty sporadic in writing, focusing mainly on somethings that occur in fourth year as that is the true start of some angst, and that is my absolute favourite thing to write! So I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter will be up, but starting from here onwards it will be a semi-fast forward!
> 
> Please let me know what you think! (and please please please lemme know of any mistakes so I can edit them, I always feel so silly reading things back days later after I posted and noticing ten new mistakes to fix)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	9. Checkmate

Hermione’s first year at Hogwarts was a mixed bag, to say the least.

Overall, it was difficult, those first two months. Though at first, lacking friends didn’t really bother her - there was so much to learn, after all! Her opinion changed as time continued, loneliness crept in. The only thing keeping her company were her mounds of books and an occasional letter from Luna. Her parents wrote every couple of days, but their letters never lessened her loneliness, they imposed a bout of homesickness upon her, instead. In the case of Neville, his shyness had increased tenfold upon rooming with the rambunctious Gryffindor crowd. He had mostly kept to himself.

And so, she was frightfully alone.

People whispered about her each time she passed. Looks of sympathy came from some older Lions and Beavers, yet none dared to intervene. Teachers had pitying gazes each time they called on her in class. She hated all of it.

She could feel herself drowning.

However, just went her lifeboat started to sink, a hand of friendship was offered from an unlikely pair. The pair that Hermione once thought almost impossible to befriend saved her from a troll and in turn she saved them from the Professors’ wrath.  
From then on they made quick work of becoming friends. They included her in everything they could, even Quidditch discussions! She always brushed them off when it came to sporting talk, but still, she was thankful. They both had rooted themselves in her heart rather quickly.

Hogwarts from there on began to feel more like home. Time’s crawl hastened to a sprint and the days easily turned into nights. Her life now filled with good company and lots of laughter. She was so incredibly happy, no one could bring her down. Not even Draco Malfoy.

But he tried.

He tried so very hard to disrupt their little group. Almost offended at her finding friends, he attacked the groups formation, hoping to bring it down. When that didn’t work, he moved on to viciously attacking her insecurities. He had a talent for picking her apart so easily. He didn’t forget to provoke Harry and Ron too, but it wasn’t the same. With her... it almost seemed personal.  
He challenged her wits, trying to entice her to react. But Hermione was used to this kind of torment, she could easily mask her hurt. Still, he was relentless. Hermione wondered if he had something to prove. Her answer was given when on one occasion, she happened to glance at the Slytherin table. Draco was a Prince, entertaining his subjects with a tall tale (probably about Harry, she mused). His gestures were wild and his smile was wide but his eyes… His eyes were dead. It was then that Hermione recognised that Draco Malfoy was complicated - he was a puzzle. But he wasn’t a puzzle that Hermione had any business solving, _yet_.

Hermione tried to forget the dead eyes of the Slytherin Prince. It wasn’t an easy task. She couldn’t help but compare that memory to the Draco she knew. The Draco who had fire-filled eyes each time an insult danced on his tongue.

But luck was on her side and a new enigma caught her eye.

He had short, neat curly hair and Hermione was immediately jealous. He always wore his house jumper and was rarely caught in anything else. When he spoke, it was careful and calculated. He always ate fruit at breakfast and she had only seen him smile once.  
She had met him before, on the train. His manner quickly became rather rude, but she wouldn’t hold that against him. People have bad days - and her favourite book taught her that first impressions were not always right!  
Plus, she had seen very little evidence that the boy’s displeasing manner was a regular occurrence. He proved quite the opposite, really. He wasn’t one of Draco’s sycophants who crowded her group, laughing and jeering at whatever tripe Draco spewed forth. Instead, he just watched from afar. Observing, perhaps? She could never tell, his face was always a blank slate.  
After some careful inquiries (which involved asking Ron, who asked Fred, who then asked George, who then shouted the question aloud in the common room, a question which Percy answered) she learned his name was Theodore Nott.

She took to watching him. It wasn’t very often, in fact it was only when the boys played wizards chess or argued about Quidditch teams. She learned that he, like Neville, kept to himself within his house. The only person he spoke to, publicly, was Malfoy. Away from prying eyes he kept up an exchange with Pansy Parkinson, it wasn’t a frequent occurrence but there was enough between them for Hermione to notice.

When Theodore confronted her on a cold spring morning, she wasn’t surprised. She had never been a subtle person and she had made no effort in perfecting her skills in that department. It was inevitable that he would confront her, she just wasn’t sure when.

It turned out that four months was his breaking point and so, at that point, he pulled her aside when she arrived at her usual spot in the library. He led her deeper into the library, to a section with dusty shelves and little light.

At first glance, his face looked as blank as ever. Upon closer inspection, however, she noticed his tightened jaw and clenched fists (that he was, unsuccessfully, trying to hide).

His voice was the calm one she was used to, although his tone was serious, “Why have you been watching me?”

Hermione blanched. He was so straightforward, not at all what she was prepared for, from a Slytherin.

He repeated his question when she didn’t answer, the calm of his voice wavering slightly.

Hermione cleared her throat, ready to explain herself, “I-I…” She couldn’t explain. She realised that she had no reason for watching him other than her own curiosity and surely, _surely_ she can’t own up to that!

“ _Well?”_

_Think, Hermione! Think!_

“I-I wanted to figure out Malfoy’s weaknesses… and I figured that you were one of them!” A bold claim.

His lips quirked upwards but he didn’t lose his serious disposition, “You seriously think I’ll buy that load of Centaur shit?” She tried to interrupt but he held his finger up, quieting her, “Tell me, _mudblood,_ why do you think you have the right to look into my business? Or Malfoy’s?”

Hermione didn’t answer, she was stricken by his use of _mudblood_ . She didn’t think he was a blood purist. But she was wrong, he was. Of course he was. Why had she dared hope otherwise? Her flame of curiosity was blown out.  
What was left, was a fire of anger.

“Are you _really_ that much of an imbecile to believe in blood purity? I’ll tell you the real reason for my interest, then. I was simply curious. Why? Because I thought _perhaps one of you greasy snakes had an actual brain!_ ”

She was breathless but her fury wasn’t over. It only ignited further by the dismissive look Theodore sent her way.

“Does blood purity dictate your every measure of thought? Do you even have any other reason to _blindly_ hate me? You’re a bloody swot too, so don’t dare say that,” he was silent, “Well? Do you?!”

He turned his body away from her and spoke so quietly, that if they weren’t in a library, Hermione doubted she would have heard it.

_“Your name.”_

And with that, he left her alone.

It didn’t explain anything, but it was enough to relight a flicker of curiosity in Hermione. Not as strong as before, but enough for her to not outright dismiss him.

 

-

 

Events at Hogwarts escalated when the trio put all of the pieces together. Snape, Flamel, Fluffy, Harry’s scar, the unicorn blood and Quirrell. The three suspected Snape to be going after the philosopher's stone for Voldemort and that the safety of the stone relied on Quirrell to stand opposition.

Ron thought that was hilarious, commenting that the stone wouldn’t last a week when Snape figured out how to get through Fluffy. Hermione on the other hand suspected Quirrell wasn’t opposed to Voldemort in the slightest. There was something too strange about that man… But her mind never travelled down that road. There were too many other important things, like studying for exams!

She, of course, had been studying for her exams for months. But this was now serious cram time and she had no room to slack off! She studied constantly and everywhere. Her habits were seriously annoying Harry and Ron, who wanted to forget that exams were coming, but she didn’t care. She was pretty sure her hair in size, from stress, those final weeks before exams.

Surprisingly to her (but not to anyone else), Hermione’s exams went very well. She blew her practicals out of the water, doing advanced material for extra points. She was unsure about her written exams but Harry told her it was simply her nerves talking. Potions had her in a panic, but she was able to complete the potion - even with Snape breathing down all of the Gryffindor’s necks.

The trio gathered outside, along with nearly every other student. It was a beautiful sunny day, not one anyone wanted to waste. Ron relaxed happily, extremely thankful the exam period was over. Hermione and Harry couldn’t relax though, each for different reasons. Hermione was meticulously going over her exam papers, considering every other answer that she could have given. Whereas Harry couldn’t relax due to his scar, he exclaimed, “I wish I knew what this meant! My scar keeps hurting - it’s happened before but never as often as this.”

Hermione was immediately concerned for her friend, “Has it been hurting all this time?”

Harry affirmed, “Ever since the forest.”

Ron sat up in shock, “Blimey Harry! All through your exams? How did you cope?”

Hermione agreed, “That sounds _awful,_  Harry. Have you been to Madame Pomfrey?”

He shook his head, “I’m not ill. It - It seems like a warning… I think it means danger is coming…”

Ron grimaced, sick of thinking about Voldemort. He tried to assure his friend that everything was fine, “Harry… relax. The stone is safe as long as Dumbledore is around. To be honest, we never actually had any proof that Snape found out how to get past Fluffy - I mean! He nearly had his leg ripped off, already. He’s not going to try it again in a hurry,” he let out a hearty chuckle, “Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down!”

Harry nodded and Hermione went back to her paper as silence descended on the group. Harry later broke the silence, saying he felt like he was forgetting something… something important. But Hermione assured her friend that everything was fine, this time. Relating his feeling to her own about exams.

He didn’t seem satisfied with this, however.

A moment passed before Harry sprang to his feet. Ron turned to him and sleepily said, “Where’re you going?”

Harry had turned as pale as Malfoy, he spoke quickly, “I’ve just thought of something. We’ve got to go see Hagrid, now.”

Harry explained the reasoning to Hermione and Ron as they walked to Hagrid’s. Upon arriving, it was quickly deduced from Hagrid that he had let the trick to tame Fluffy slip (now to them, too).

In a flurry, they rushed back to the castle, hoping to warn Dumbledore. Luck wasn’t on their side, they missed him by ten minutes. On top of that Professor McGonagall didn’t believe them that the stone was in danger, and so, the trio hatched a plan. The situation was becoming very grave indeed.

The plan of the eleven year olds failed quite quickly of course. After an outburst of frustration from Harry, Hermione and Ron stood by their friend’s side and ventured to the third floor under Harry’s invisibility cloak.

They were almost stopped by Neville. Hermione was proud of Neville’s courage to stand up to them and even Malfoy. He had really came out of his shell lately. But sadly, she couldn’t let her friend stop them. She hit him with a full body-bind and a dozen apologies. Then, they were off.

They almost got caught twice; Mrs Norris being incredibly nosey and Peeves being… Peeves. But he was quickly scared off by Harry’s Bloody Baron impression. They eventually made it to the third floor corridor. The door was already ajar and Fluffy was sleeping soundly to the tune of a harp. Harry had brought his flute with him, just in case, and he was right to do so. The harp stopped playing soon after they walked further into the room. 

The three headed dog growled, sniffed and drooled something foul. It was waking up! Hermione lightly hit Harry’s arm and he began to play his flute. Ron approached the trapdoor, whispering it’s contents to the pair, “It’s nothing - pitch black. I don’t see any way of climbing down, it’s just a drop.”

Harry passed the flute to Hermione, deciding to brave the darkness first. He got confirmation that they would run and go to the Owlery if anything happened to him - and then he jumped.

“It’s okay!” He shouted up, “It’s a soft landing - I don’t know what it is though.”

Ron scampered in behind Harry after hearing the confirmation. That just left Hermione. She creeped, as quiet as possible, towards the trapdoor while playing the flute. She knew that once she stopped playing and made a move to get in, she would only have a couple of seconds. When close enough to the door, she took a deep breath and jumped in.

The dog barked thrice, but she had already landed. The landing was upon a soft, plant-like mass. 

“We must be miles under the school,” she surmised.

“Pretty lucky that this plant thing is here then, really,” said Ron.

Hermione looked at her friends and quickly deduced that this was not luck at all, “Lucky?!” she shrieked, “Those vines hardly look welcoming!”

She tried to get up and make her way over to the wall, but vines attacked her legs, trying to pull her into their mass. She managed to free herself enough to breath but she watched in horror as Ron tried pulling the plant off of him and Harry wiggled around. The more they moved the more it fought them and the faster it became.

“Don’t move! Stop!” She yelled, “This is Devil’s Snare.”

“Oh gee, thanks Hermione! I’m  _ so _ glad we know what it’s called! It’s really,” he grunted, struggling, “a great help!”

“Oh be quiet! I’m trying to remember how to save your arses!”

Harry begged her to hurry as he was struggling to breathe. She reached into the back of her mind and repeated Professor Sprout’s rhyme. From then on it was quick work. After an embarrassing moment where Hermione lost her head, they were all free of the plant.

They carried on through a passageway, through a room of winged keys that Harry easily bested. He wasn’t the youngest seeker in a century for nothing! 

The continued on, nerves increasing with each step the took. When they arrived at the next room, however, Ron couldn't help but let out a whistle, admiring it. The room was vast and beautiful, it house a grand chessboard with massive pieces to match.

“We need to play our way across the room,” said Ron, “In other words - we become the pieces.”

Chess wasn’t Hermione’s forte, this was going to be completely out of her control and it made her so very nervous.

Ron walked up to a black Knight and asked him if he was correct. The black knight nodded and Ron became contemplative. 

He nodded to himself and looked up at them, “Now - don’t be offended or anything but you’re both pants at chess-”

“We aren’t offended,” Harry said, hurried, “Just tell us what to do.”

He told them, and they took their respective places. The black pieces that they replaced wandered off of the chessboard. Ron explained that white always plays first, and so, they watched.

Ron directed the game. He was unbelievably calm compared to both Hermione and Harry. Their nerves only increased, tenfold, when Ron sacrificed a black pawn so Hermione could take out the Bishop.

The pawn was smashed to the ground, the white queen showed no mercy. She dragged it off the chessboard and dumped it like trash. Hermione hated to think about what would happen if it was one of them who were caught.

The game continued and soon there was heavy losses from both sides. The white pieces were ruthless, but Ron was just the same. His mind was clearly excellent when it came to strategy, as he single handedly almost won them the game. That is, until they were one move away from checkmate. 

The white queen turned towards him, demanding a sacrifice for their coming win. Ron accepted it with grace, stating that it was the only way. 

“NO, Ron!” Harry shouted.

“Please Ron, don’t!” Hermione squealed, almost crying. 

If he was taken… he would surely be injured, he may even die…

“That’s chess!” snapped Ron, “You’ve got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she’ll take me - that leaves  _ you _ free to checkmate the king, Harry!” 

“But, Ron-”

“You need to stop Snape, Harry.”

“Ron!” Hermione shouted.

Ron let out an exasperated sigh, “Look, if you both don’t hurry up, he’ll already have the stone!”

It was clear to them both that there was no other way. 

“Don’t wait around once you’ve won. Get the stone, okay?”

They both nodded at their friend. Hermione couldn’t help but silently cry as she watched Ron step up to the white queen. He was pale, but he looked at the queen with unflinching bravery. 

The white queen was brutal. She hit Ron across his head with her stone arm and he crumpled to the floor. Hermione let out a scream, every inch of her wanting to run over to him, but she stayed in her square. The queen dragged Ron to the side of the chessboard - he was out cold.

Harry was trembling, but he still moved three spaces to the left like Ron had instructed. The white king removed his crown and threw it at Harry’s feet. They had done it. No -  _ Ron _ had done it.

The chessmen parted, giving them clear way to the next room. Hermione looked at Ron, he was lying in a heap of broken chess pieces. It felt terrible to leave him, but she needed to continue with Harry.

The moved into the next room. Harry questioned her on what she thought was next, she deduced it to be either Quirrell’s or Snape’s trial. They needn’t have worried about Quirrell’s however, for it lay there, unconscious, with a large lump on it’s head. 

“God it smells foul!” Hermione whispered. 

“I’m just glad we didn't have to fight this one. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

The next room was almost empty, save for a table in the middle and seven bottles on top of it.  They stepped into the room and immediately a purple fire ignited behind them. At the same time, black flames shot up in the doorway that led to the next room. They were trapped.

Hermione picked up a roll of parchment that was lying behind the bottles, while Harry mused, “Obviously this is Snape’s trial. What is it though?”

She read the script and smiled, “It’s a logic puzzle - a riddle!”

To be honest, she didn’t want to admit it... but it was brilliant. Even though Snape was the one they were after, a little part of her admired him for this.  She made quick work of the riddle, but triple checked just in case. It was their lives on the line, here. A wrench was thrown into their plan, however, when there was only enough potion for one of them to go and get the stone.

Harry decided that he would go and gave her a plan of action that Hermione had a hard time saying no to.

She grasped at straws to protest it, “What if Voldemort is in there?”

He smiled sadly and pointed to his scar, “I was lucky once, wasn’t I?”

Hermione’s lip trembled and her eyes started to sting. She pulled Harry in for a hug, hoping it wasn’t the last time she would ever hug him.  
She needed to say something to him, “Harry. Harry, you’re an amazing wizard, you know.”

“I’m not half as good as you,” he said in response, she let go of him and shook her head.

“Me?” Her voice wobbled, “Books! And cleverness! No, there are much more important things, Harry. I realise that now, friendship - and bravery. I promise next year I won’t hassle you to study so much!”

They both shared a laugh and a smile. Harry ended the moment by saying, “You drink first, Hermione.”

She nodded at him, and spoke once more before drinking, “Harry - please be careful.”

 

-

 

Hermione’s footsteps were light and quick, she was filled with an urgency to find Ron.

She passed the troll and all of the white broken chess pieces, keeping her eyes peeled. 

He was lying amidst a pile of black debris, face bloodied.

His chest steadily rose and fell, his breathing heavy. She crouched over him and lightly tapped him on his cheek, “Ron… Ron please wake up,  _ come on… _ ”

He twisted himself and groaned, responding to her voice. She wanted to both cry with happiness and panic at the state of her friend.

“Ron - Ron it’s me, Hermione. Come on and wake up. We need to go get Dumbledore…”

“ _ Hermione…” _ he rasped.

“Yes, it’s Hermione. Open your eyes.”

He opened his eyes and lazily looked around the room. He sat up, with the help of her.

“You said,” his coughed and spluttered, “Dumble - Dumbledore?”

“Yes Ron. We need to go get Dumbledore, Harry needs our help.”

Hearing Harry’s name reinvigorated Ron. His weak attempts at standing up ceased and instead he pushed himself up, with all the strength he had left. His heavy breathing filled the room.

He looked at her, swaying on his feet, “Do you have a plan ‘mione?” She wasn’t sure if that was her new nickname or just a fluke, but she loved it. 

“Harry thought of one. We need to get the brooms from the key room and fly to the owlery and then send a letter to Dumbledore.”

“Okay. You - you go get the brooms, I’ll be right behind you.” 

She shot him a concerned look but agreed, running on ahead to grab the brooms. The less Ron is on his feet, the better.

But Ron was looking worse for wear when she returned. All his energy was going into keeping himself standing.  _ This won’t do… _ “I’ll take you to the hospital wing and go to the Owlery myself.”

“Mione -  _ no. _ No, I need to be there for Harry.”

She vehemently disagreed, “No.” She continued, in a small voice, “He’ll probably be going to the hospital wing too,” she mounted one of the brooms she held and discarded the other, “You can’t fly yourself. Join me - we need to hurry so no arguing.”

He gave up fighting and mounted her broom. Once on it, Hermione secured his grip, making sure if he fell unconscious that he would still be mounted with her. When satisfied, she took off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first year is almost over! It was tricky to write the final half, I didn't want to completely skip over the stuff the trio went through - but I also didn't want to just completely rewrite over what JK wrote? I did use the chapter in the book for reference and even kept some complete lines from the book (example: Ron's line at wizard's chess - it's just so excellently Ron!).
> 
> Let me know what you think! Sorry there isn't any Draco this chapter, next has a bunch!
> 
> Edit: Chapter was edited to cut some stuff down (But I still couldn't cut the chess match down, I think I needed it in there to show Hermione's perspective.)


	10. Fanciful stories

Draco was numb. Cheers and excitement were all around him, his peers’ eyes sparkled with delight. Exams were finished and it was time to go home. No more homework, no more studying - freedom.  
The only problem was, Draco didn’t really want to go home. He didn’t want to stay in Hogwarts either, of course. But he also didn’t want to suffer under Lucius’ harsh glare when they get their exam results back.

His mother would be there to offer comfort to him, and he would see Theo probably every day. He could fly all he wanted and see numerous quidditch matches yet all of that goodness was nothing compared to his father’s disappointment.

He just _knew_ that Granger was going to be the top of their year. No matter how hard he studied, and how much natural talent he possessed - she was going to be on top. A mudblood above every pureblood. A mudblood who was greater than him.

“This school is a farce.” He bit out at his friends.

Their happy faces turned to him with confusion written in their eyes. Theo, observant as ever, clapped him on the back, “Of course it is. With _Albus Dumbledore_ at the helm… What else should we expect?”

Draco easily read between the lines that his friend offered. Saving face, he complied, “I hope _Dumbledore_ doesn’t show up next year.”

Daphne giggled at the thought, “Oh gosh! That would be great. Then Professor Snape could be headmaster! We would rule the school, just like we should.”

Merlin, this girl was daft. She was unbelievably pretty but her mind was filled with nothing but air. He eyed her critically, his disapproval radiating off of him in waves. Theodore stepped in before he insulted the girl, however, “McGonagall would be headmaster, Daph. Anyway, Draco and I need to have words. Adieu, ladies.”

Draco was thankful for the reprieve. He simply wasn’t in the mood to tolerate stupidity today. While they walked away, they heard Daphne exclaim, _“Oh that’s just rubbish! Why is it always Gryffindors?”_

When they were far enough from the group, Draco let out a sigh. Theo patiently leaned against a tree and motioned for Draco to sit down.

“So - what’s really got your wand in a knot?”

Draco reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a crumpled letter. He double checked that no one was watching, then handed it off to Theo.

He cracked his knuckles multiple times and eyed Theo - watching for his reaction.

He watched his friend’s eyes narrow at the parchment. When he finally got to the end, his mouth twisted into a distasteful grimace, “Merlin, Draco. That’s pretty vile.”

“Yes, it is.” He clipped, “So are the twenty other letters I’ve received these last few months, reiterating the same points. The ones from mother were of course, much less _vulgar_ , but their meaning was still clear.”

“Do you think you’ve beaten her on the exams?”

Draco scoffed and levelled his friend a glare, “Of course I bloody haven’t! The only possible exam I could have ranked higher than her on was the Potions practical. But of course her written exam for it will round her marks up higher than mine.”

“So what d’ya reckon Lucy is gonna do?”

Draco sneered at his friend, “Don’t call him that. He’s a Malfoy.”

Theodore sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes, “Oh come off it, Draco.”

He ignored his friend and threw his head back to lay on the warm grass. His eyes traced the shapes of the clouds for a handful of minutes before he breathed in deeply, calming himself from his taught outrage.

“Sorry, mate,” that was the most his pride would allow.

Theodore nodded and decided to change topics, “So your occlumency clearly still isn’t great.”

Draco let out a bitter laugh, drawing the attention of some Hufflepuffs in their year. Theodore reached for his wand as a silent threat to the eavesdroppers. They quickly turned away, instead they found that staring at Potter was infinitely more interesting.

Draco had his hand over his eyes, blocking the sun, so he was unaware of the exchange. He spoke freely, “Yeah, do you want to know why?” Theo affirmed with a hum, “Because Sev won’t fucking teach me. He said he was _too busy_ this year. He wasn’t too fucking busy to send the class rankings to my father, though.”

“Means he’ll teach you next year though, right?”

“Fat chance of that. I’m just going to ask mother to do it this summer. I just need more practice,” In reality, he was unsure if that would be enough. He hoped that it was the case but he already half expected to fail.

“My father says he’ll teach me. Not sure I really want him to though.”

Draco rolled to his side so he could get a good look at his friend, “Why? Got something to _hide?”_

“No.” Theo looked away from him - a sure sign of him lying.

“Ease up - I won’t push it,” He took pity on his friend, though, “Why don’t you join me and mother, instead? You’ll be coming over anyway.”

Theodore considered his friend’s offer seriously. Gratitude showed in his eyes and a shade of pink danced upon his cheeks, “I might.”

 

-

 

Rumours were flying all over the school the next day. A dirty and dusty Granger showed up to the Hospital wing with a severely injured Weasley, sans Potter. To make matters even more interesting, a few hours later, Dumbledore himself carried an unconscious and bloody Potter to Pomfrey and then in a flurry, called a staff meeting.

The majority of Professors were all missing from the Great hall during lunch that day. The only ones left were ones that Draco had yet to have classes with.

He would be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t interested in what happened. He was actually brimming with curiosity. But something about the situation left a nasty feeling in his gut. His stomach twisted every time he looked at Granger’s somber face as she sat alone, missing her duo.

Longbottom sat beside her although a noticeable distance separated them. A distance that neither of them wanted to close. Someone had even joked that Longbottom had finally bitten into blood purity with the way he was looking at Granger. Anger filled the boy’s eyes and for once, Draco rather liked Longbottom.

Draco spent the rest of the lunch hour making up fanciful stories about what could have happened. His particular favourite was that Potter and Weasley got into a fight over which of them would marry Granger - but they were so stupid that they collapsed a part of the castle on them. Potter was so afraid of the dark that he fainted. Granger was unable to do a simple levitation spell, so she just left him and took Weasley to the infirmary.

Unfortunately, his little stories had somehow gotten back to Granger. On his way to the library later that evening, he was harshly pulled into a dark alcove with a wand pressed to his throat.

A chilling fear settled over him and he spat out, “Who the bloody hell are you? I-I’m a Malfoy, you know!”

No spoken answer was given to his question, instead the wand was pushed firmly against his throat and spell was cast.

“ _Lumos.”_

The bright flash stung his eyes and he had to squint at his captor. They met him on an almost equal height, with his being slightly taller than the other. Their face was obscured by the bright flare of the Lumos, but he could easily see the telltale giveaway of bushy hair.

His body relaxed when he realised his captor but a cruel venom laced his voice, “ _Granger._ ”

She met him with equal vigor, “ _Malfoy.”_

“Unhand me at _once,”_ he seethed.

She dampened the light of her spell and he now saw her face. The fear from earlier, that had slithered away when he realised he was faced with a mudblood, rushed back, flooding his senses. A look he never thought he would see on her graced her features. A menacing smile was now in place of her usual cautious one and a black flame danced in her eyes. Her manner screamed one word at him: _‘Vengeance.’_

“Listen here, _Malfoy,”_ her voice was edged with malice, “You need to learn a lesson. I’ve forgiven your fanciful stories all year but _this_ is my breaking point. How _dare_ you insinuate _anything_ between my friends and I!” She edged closer to him, their noses almost touching, “Furthermore, you very well _know_ that I can levitate a person if I wanted to. I think you’re just _scared_ because you know that there is more to our little adventure than everyone has been told.”

He gasped at her confirmation, not ready to process the implications. He repressed his fear to the best of his ability and attempted to reign some control on the situation.

“Ha! You’re funny for a mudblood, you know. We all know you can’t even levitate a _book_ , Granger. Flitwick’s feather was just a fluke.”

She grinned at him and he immediately tensed - that was _not_ the reaction he was looking for.

“I see you want a demonstration, Malfoy.”

She moved her wand away from his throat and he took the opportunity to arm himself. But his wand… wasn’t there.

In an instant - he was floating. He was quickly pressed to the ceiling of the alcove, as it was a cramped space. This elicited a sigh from Granger, “It’s a pity… If I had cornered you outside instead, I could have sat you on top of the Whomping Willow…”

“ _ARE YOU MAD?”_ he yelled at her. A beat later, he realised he could yell for help, “ _HELP! HELP!”_

A little giggle interrupted him, however, “Oh Malfoy, you really think I didn’t _silence_ the alcove?”

After a couple more seconds, she put him back on the floor, satisfied.

“I hope you will now think twice about creating your little stories, Malfoy.”

He sat there, dazed, not even lucid enough to pick up his wand that she dropped when she left. If he was to believe her, she had casted fifth year magic already… On top of that, she clearly wasn’t the goody little Gryffindor that she had everyone believing she was. She was a bloody terror.

And now, she had caught his attention.

 

-

 

Hermione felt awful. She took out her emotions on Malfoy and threatened him! She never would have _actually_ put him on top of the whomping willow, but he seemed to actually believe her that she would. Maybe she also had taken it a little far with _actually_ levitating him at all but he really egged her into it!

No… No he didn’t. He _barely_ egged her into it and she done it anyway. She had just felt so frustrated and afraid… Harry _still_ hadn’t woken up and the Professors weren’t letting anyone visit the hospital wing during class hours. Even though there were no classes and they would be leaving soon!

On top of it all, Neville wouldn’t speak to her. She was practically bursting at the seams to apologise but he moved away from her any time she came near.

Oh she really wished Luna was here…

Luna! She should write to her friend!

With a set goal in mind, she ran to Gryffindor tower and filled a bag with her letter writing supplies. She decided that she might as well write outside the hospital wing, as then she may seem sympathetic to a guarding Professor and they would let her in.

Correct in her thinking, that’s exactly what Professor Sprout did. Unlucky for her, though, neither Ron nor Harry were awake. So she sat at their bedside to pen her letter instead.

_Dear Luna,_

_I have quite a story to share with you. I will retell you it in person this summer, but I must write it to you now too. Or else I might burst! I hope you don’t mind me venting…_

_...They have both been in the hospital wing since last night. Madame Pomfrey says Ron should be waking up sometime today, but he is taking his time. Not that I mind, he clearly needs his rest. He was really so brave.  
_ _She also said that Harry won’t be waking up for another day. Supposedly he had quite the shock. We don’t have the full story - and even if we did, I would be loathe to write it all over paper. It is dark information that lies within this story._

_Anyway! How have you been? Am I still allowed to visit you, this summer? You actually live really close to the Weasley’s right? I should introduce you to Ron! He wants both of me and Harry to visit him this summer and meet his entire family, I’ve seen them before but I haven’t actually met any that don’t go to Hogwarts. It’s a bit nerve racking, really. I heard his dad works with Muggle technology or something in the ministry. I might bring him some Muggle books on it! Or would that be insensitive? You tell me!_

_I mentioned earlier that I had to stun Neville. It was more than that, though. I casted the body bind curse on him. He won’t even talk to me now. I hope I can apologise before we go home for the holidays…_

“Mione? That you?” Ron groaned from behind her.

She turned to his bed and squealed, “Ron! Oh, how do you feel?!”

He lightly chuckled, “Merlin Mione, you really know how to burst someone’s ear drums…”

She smiled sheepishly, “Sorry! I’m just so happy you’re awake. I’ve been stressing about you and Harry all day. How do you feel?”

He lay his head back on his pillow and closed his eyes, “Tired? Hungry? That’s about it. What’s wrong with ‘arry?”

She scoffed, “Of course you’re hungry. Let me go get Madame Pomfrey.”

“Wait - tell me about Harry.”

She shook her head, “I’ll tell you once you’ve been checked over and are eating something.”  
Madame Pomfrey was quick to give Ron a thumbs up on his recovery. She said he could leave after he ate something and had one last dose of medicine. When she summoned his food, he was quick to dig in and likewise when she had left, he was quick to question Hermione.

While still chewing, he spoke, “So, ‘ell me wha’ ‘appened to ‘arry.”

“Ronald! Don’t talk while eating.”

He dramatically rolled his eyes and gestured for her to speak.

“I don’t exactly know. The Professors weren’t very forthcoming, and he was already unconscious when he was brought here,” she lowered her voice, “What I _do_ know is that Snape wasn’t the culprit. He was called here by Pomfrey when Harry was brought in so he could brew a potion - I didn’t catch the name. What I also know, is that Quirrell hasn’t been seen all day.”

He looked at her with wide eyes, “Blimey…”

“Indeed.”

“Holy shit. D’you think that’s why he wore the turban? Nah - couldn’t be.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, not understanding what he was saying, “What do you mean?”

Ron swallowed his food and leaned in to Hermione, keeping his voice quiet, “It was just a little story Mum told us once - to scare us, y’know? Was said that once hundreds of years ago, a wizard murdered a powerful witch and her husband. Though she didn’t really die, her spirit wandered the mortal plane. To enact revenge, she convinced the wife of that same wizard, to serve her spirit and when the witch submitted - she possessed her. But the possession wasn’t complete, and instead the face of the dead witch grew on the wife’s back.”

“That - that’s crazy. But I can see where you’re coming from. What happened to the wife?”

Ron, disinterested with the rest of the story, went back to eating, “She became a husk, the witch drained her life energy from her possession. It wasn’t intentional but it was the greatest revenge she could have committed.”

“That is… dark.”

“Well yeah…”

A silence passed between them as Hermione’s thoughts were weighed down by Ron’s story. It left her feeling very unsettled. She didn’t even know possession was really a thing… She needed to spend more time in the library before they left for summer…

Ron’s brothers came to visit him and Hermione’s heavy thoughts were pressed into the back of her mind. Courtesy of one of Fred's exaggerated stories about George's new invention. The thoughts didn’t really disappear though, evidenced when they came back later that night to haunt her dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmm I hope you guys aren't mad at me that Hermione enacted a little bit of revenge. I've always thought Hermione had a bit of a dark side that people discounted over way too easily. This is just an early edition for it, the Lioness has claws when you come at her friends!
> 
> Sorry this chapter is kinda short! Lemme know what you think, thanks for reading! (and mistakes pls cuz I havent done a full read back of this yet, cuz... i honestly couldnt be bothered lmao i just wanted it GONE so i can write harry waking up)


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